Ambassador of the United States to Pakistan, Donald Blome, paid a courtesy visit to Minister for Finance & Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb Tuesday to discuss important matters related to bilateral cooperation and mutual interests between Pakistan and the United States.

The ambassador extended felicitations to Muhammad Aurangzeb upon his appointment as Minister for Finance and Revenue and conveyed confidence towards further strengthening of economic ties between the two countries.

He congratulated the government on the positive steps taken so far that resulted in visibly positive signs in the economy and hoped that it would help further stabilise the economy. The minister warmly welcomed the ambassador and underscored the significance of Pakistan-US bilateral relations, highlighting their importance at political, economic, and security levels. He shared that the new government was fully prepared to tackle the economic challenges and is determined to bring about macroeconomic stability in the country.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to completing the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and continuing the economic reform process initiated under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) 2019 and Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) 2023, with a focus on achieving fiscal and debt sustainability, social protection, and rebuilding foreign exchange reserves.

Highlighting the priority areas for reforms, Minister Aurangzeb outlined the government’s foremost priority of bringing reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to prevent revenue leakages through end-to-end digitization, enhancing the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) reforms, strengthening social protection measures, improving public financial management, implementing energy sector reforms, removing distortionary subsidies, and fostering private sector-led economic growth.

Recognizing the United States as one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a significant source of foreign direct investment, Minister Aurangzeb expressed appreciation for the economic ties between the two nations.

Concluding the meeting, both sides acknowledged the critical nature of the relationship between Pakistan and the United States and expressed the desire to continue enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries, the statement added.